It is usually Novak Djokovic who is the talking point of his matches at Wimbledon but on Monday a series of unusual events triggered by mother nature stole the limelight.
Djokovic, who is seeking a record-equalling eighth title at the tournament, beat Argentina’s Pedro Cachin 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(3), in his first round match. The encounter was his 128th Tour-level match on the grass against Wimbledon debutant Cachin who was only playing his second. His latest win featured a total of 45 winners as he broke his opponent four times.
Although Djokovic’s role in the match wasn’t just as a player. He was also a ball boy and groundsman at one stage after rain hit following the first set. Although Center Court has a roof, it can’t close instantly. Leaving Djokovic, Cachin and others drying the court with towels at one stage after returning 25 minutes later. Both players were unhappy about damp patches on the court. Then when that wasn’t enough during the lengthy delay, which lasted more than an hour, a team of blowers was called to the court to help dry it. Meanwhile, the near-capacity crowd remained in good spirits and cheered on the work which was being done by everybody.
During the interval, umpire Renaud Lichtenstein said on the microphone ‘The court is taking longer than expected to dry. We hope to resume play as soon as possible.” Rain delays are a common occurrence at Wimbledon but this one was unique, to say the least.
“Probably but in a good way,” Djokovic replied when asked if his latest match was the strangest of his career. “It was frustrating for the crowd waiting for us to come out on the court and for us players. We both wanted to play (right away) but the conditions were not great.’
“Once the roof was open it was a different story. After 5-10 minutes we were out and about.’
“I usually come out with rackets and not towels. But it was fun to do something different. A bit of a strange feeling.”
As for the action on the court, Djokovic resumed his dominance after the rain delay by breaking Cachin at the start and the end of the second set to nudge ahead 6-3, 6-3. Then in the third frame, he was tested early on after bouncing back from a 15-40 deficit in his opening service game before being taken to a one-sided tiebreak. Closing in on his 87th Wimbledon victory, the top seed raced to five match points. He converted his third after a Cachin backhand slammed into the net.
“Pedro deserves a round of applause for his performance,” he said. “Especially in the third set he was serving very well and hitting his spots in the box extremely precise. It was not easy to break his serve.’
“I had a better start in the tiebreak and that helped win the tiebreak and close out the match.”
Djokovic has now won 29 matches in a row on the grass with his last loss (excluding retirement) being against Marin Cilic at the 2018 Queen’s tournament. It is the 18th consecutive time that he has won his opening match at Wimbledon.
“The opening match is always tricky because I haven’t played any lead-up matches,” Djokovic reflected. “Grass is different to clay in terms of movement, game style and tactics. It probably takes more time to adapt but I’ve managed to do it pretty well in recent years. There is no reason why I can’t do it again.”
In the second round Djokovic will play Australia’s Jordan Thompson who beat Brandon Nakashima 2-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-3.
